Feb. 28
More evidence in favour of MOND?
Modified Newtonian dynamics (MOND) is the name given to a theory proposed in 1983 by the physicist Mordehai Milgrom, to get over some of the apparent shortcomings shown by Newtonian gravity when
>>> |
|
 |
|
|
Feb. 25
Asteroids: Kleopatra and her twins
In this month's issue of the
journal Icarus, the results
of a long study of asteroid
216 Kleopatra, and other
large asteroids with small
satellites, are published.
The main authors of the
study are
>>> |
|
 |
|
|
Feb. 24
A family portrait of the solar system
Using the Wide Angle Camera
(WAC) and the Narrow Angle
Camera (NAC) of the Mercury
Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
on-board NASA's MESSENGER
probe (MErcury Surface,
Space, ENvironment
>>> |
|
 |
|
|
Feb. 23
Lunar water full of metals and sodium
The results from the analysis of volatile material released by the LCROSS probe, that impacted in the crater Cabeus near the lunar pole on 9th October 2 years ago, have been confirmed (the cloud
>>> |
|
 |
|
|
Feb. 22
Could rogue planets support life?
Do you remember the TV
series "Space: 1999"? An
enormous explosion of
nuclear waste on the Moon
pushes our satellite out of
its orbit, marking the start
of a long cosmic odyssey for
the
>>> |
|
 |
|
|
Feb. 21
Precision distance measurements with VLBA
We're all used to hearing about the superb angular resolution of space telescopes and the largest ground-based instruments, but only rather infrequently are we reminded that there is an instrument capable
>>> |
|
 |
|
|
Feb. 18
The first image of the magnetosphere
Two single pixel cameras, using revolutionary technology, have been used to give "live" images of a large portion of the Earth's magnetosphere. The magnetosphere is the result of the
>>> |
|
 |
|
|
Feb. 17
How much
dark matter to make a galaxy?
Thanks to the Herschel Space Observatory, it has been possible to determine how much dark matter must be present at the time of formation of a galaxy, so that it can contract to form stars and
>>> |
|
 |
|
|
Feb. 16
Stardust-NExT, mission accomplished!
Here are the first dramatic
images of comet Tempel 1,
just released by NASA, after
the close flyby of the
Stardust-NExT probe. These
images were much anticipated
as they provide, for the
first time, the
>>> |
|
 |
|
|
Feb. 15
Isolating the thick disk of M31
The results of a study,
carried out by a group of
Anglo-American researchers
led by Michelle Collins
(Cambridge's Institute of
Astronomy), have been
published in the Monthly
Notices of the
>>> |
|
 |
|
|
Feb. 14
Spitzer opens up the
North America nebula
New images of the North
America and Pelican nebula,
obtained with the infrared
sensors of the Spitzer space
telescope, show these
spectacular structures in a
completely new light. What
is seen at the infrared
>>> |
|
 |
|
|
Feb. 11
A ring of stars and black holes in Arp 147
The Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) in Baltimore has released this remarkable image of a cosmic ring, a fitting pre-Valentine's day image. The cause of this odd structure, 430 light
>>> |
|
 |
|
|
Feb. 10
Stardust-NExT meets Tempel 1
There are 4 days and 3.8
million kilometers between
the Stardust-NExT probe and
its encounter with comet
Temple 1. Both are veterans
of previous historic
encounters. Stardust,
launched on 17th
>>> |
|
 |
|
|
Feb. 9
Evidence for Martian water from Nakhlites
The results of the analysis
of meteorite samples,
carried out by John Bridges
and Hitesh Changela
(University of Leicester,
Department of Physics and
Astronomy) that show how
asteroid impacts on Mars
>>> |
|
 |
|
|
Feb. 8
Are there primordial stars that still shine?
Using very high resolution
computer simulations, it has
been shown that stars born
in the primordial Universe
from the gravitational
contraction of gigantic gas
clouds that formed after the
Big Bang, may still
>>> |
|
 |
|
|
Feb. 7
From the other side of the Sun
For the first time Man has been able to (almost) simultaneously observe the entire solar surface. This has been made possible by the twin probes of STEREO (Solar TErrestrial Relations Observatory)
>>> |
|
 |
|
|
Feb. 4
A disrupted galaxy right next to Earth
At a distance of between 16,000 and 32,000 light years from the Earth there is a galaxy; or, to be more precise, a stellar stream, whose dynamics show that it represents the remnants of a dwarf galaxy
>>> |
|
 |
|
|
Feb. 3
Important discoveries from Kepler data
Five Earth-sized planets, in
orbit in the habitable zone
around five different stars,
smaller and cooler than the
Sun, and a planetary system
with 6 transiting planets.
These are the most
>>> |
|
 |
|
|
Feb. 2
All the WISE comets, and more...
Tens of thousands of asteroids and 20 new comets are the result of the recently completed NEOWISE mission, that has spent 4 months searching for minor bodies in our solar system.
When, at the
>>> |
|
 |
|
|
